Remote radio control



Au so, 1938. E. F. BACON 2,128,280

REMOTE mic CONTROL Fi1ed.Dec.,5; 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1- & ,,,,,,MQ

Aug. 30, 1938. E. F; B ACON REMOTE RADIO CONTROL Filqd Dec. 5, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 30, 1938.; .EQF. BACCN REMOTE RADIO CONTROL Fi1ed Dec. 5, 193a 4 Sheets-Sh e et a I l 3mm Q 5/13 71? .efffidcolz v Aug. 30, 1938. E. F. BACON REMOTE RADIO CONTROL Filed Dec. s, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I l IuImWMEE III IIIIIIIIIIII'II /72 up ma- Patented Aug. 3! 1938 umrso STATES PATENT OFFICE REMOTE RADIO CONTROL Elbridge F. Bacon, Flint, Mich, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Application December 5, 1956, Serial No..114,326

3 Claims.

not accessible for tuning by the operator of the vehicle, it is necessary to provide a remote control box which can be positioned at some point near the operator so that he may tune the. set

15 without diverting his attention from the operation of the vehicle.

It is therefore the object of my invention to provide remote control means adapted to be positioned at an accessible position in a motor vehicle.

20 It is a further object of my invention to provide a remote control device in which all of the necessary changeable functions of operation are provided in the operation of a radio set.

It is a. still further object of my invention to 25 provide a remote control device for a radio set which is simple, sturdily constructed and of pleasing appearance.

With these and other objects in view the em.- bodiments of my invention are disclosed in the 30 following specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my device. parts being broken away and shown in section.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 35 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view similar to Figure -1 showing a modified form of my invention.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views taken on lines 4-4, 55, and 6-6 respectively of Figure 3. 40 A casing 2 which is adapted to house the elements of my remote control is provided which is roughly rectangular in cross sectionand upon the top of which a cover 4 is adapted to be secured to provide a hollow casing for the apparatus.

45 In the forward wall of the casing thereis provided a pair of bushings 6 and 6 which are rigidly secured in the wall of the casing 2- and in the rear. wall in alignment with the said bushings are two more bushings l and I2 which are also fig- 50 idly secured to the casing 2.

' Referring specifically toFigure 1,,a rotatable shaft l4 extends through the bushings 6 and I0 and is rotatable therein, the front end of the shaft being flattened, as shown at section l6, and

55 a control knob i6 fitting over the outer end has a set screw 20 therein which is adapted to be driven down against the flattened face l6 to secure the knob it on the shaft.

,Adjacent theinner surface of the bushing 6 there is provided a collar 22 held in place on the shaft by a set screw 24 to prevent longitudinal .movement of the shaft. The inner end of the shaft I4 is hollow and has secured therein by any desired means the end of a fiexibleshaft .26,

' said shaft extending through and connected to the remote radio set, not shown.

- Also secured within the bushing i0 is .the end 26 of the outer casing of the flexibledrive. In like manner a shaft 30 is secured through the stationary bushings 8 and I2 on the lefthand side of the apparatus and a; fiexible shaft'32 'housed within a stationaryffiexible housing 34 is operated by rotationof the shaft 36 through manual operation by a forwardly extending knob 36. Secured to the shaft 30' within the casing 2 is a. U-shaped bracket 38 heldzin place by a set screw 46, one arm of said bracket extending to and operating the movable arms of an oif-and-on switch 42 secured to the casing by a screw 44.

The circuit connections 46 from said switch are connected to the remote set in any desired manner, the left hand knob therefore operating to turn the whole system on and oil! by operation of the switch 42 and adapted through the flexible drive 32 to vary the volume of the set. The rotation of-the knob It on the other hand through its flexible drive tends to rotate the gang condensers of the remote set and therefore to tune the same tovarious frequencies. I Secured to the shaft i4 by a set screw 48 is a spur gear. 50 which is adapted to mate with a; large gear 52 supported on a stub shaft 54 which f is held in the rear wall of the casing 2 by a nut 56. Also located on the stub shaft is a further gear 56 of smaller diameter, said gears being kept in close contact by a fiexed spring disk 58, the two rotating normally together but allowing a certain slippage therebetween' if necessary to avoid a stripping of teeth. v

The gear I! mates with a further gear 60 secured'to a shaft 62, one end of which is pivoted I in the rear face of the casing 2 and the opposite end extends through-an inwardly pressed bracket 64 from the forward face of the casing 2 and has press-fitted upon its forward end an indicating needle 86 for rotation therewith. Concentric with the shaft 62 is a helical spring 68, one end of which is secured to the gear 60 and the other to the depending bracket 64 to assist in turning the u gear in one direction and making it easier to manipulate.

In the forward face of the casing 2 there is provided a comparatively large opening 10 over which is secured an irregularly shaped backing plate 12, the ends of which are adapted to lie parallel with the outer surface of the casing. A concealing annular ring 14 is adapted to lie upon the flat edges of the backing plate 12 and upon this annular ring 14 is a transparent disk 16 firmly secured by a bezel 16 which presses a small circular hose gasket 66 against the outer surface of the glass disk 16. The bezel extends in toward the casino.- lies over the flat ends of the member 12 and has portions which project through the casing to be bent flat on the inner surface to secure the whole against the casing.

Any suitable lighting means, such as socket 62 and bulb 64, is provided within the casing, the

20 light rays from which project through openings in the casing, backing plate 12. concealing ring 14, and into the glass dial 16. On the forward face of the glass dial there isprovided a series of small opaque areas of paint 66 which reflect the light 5 coming from the source causing the same to travel radially through the disk which illuminates the various indicia 66 painted on the rear face of the diaL. It will thus be evident that as the right hand knob I6 is rotated, that, as well as controlling the remote gang of condensers, it also operates through the meshing gears l6, I2. 66, and 66 to rotate the indicating needle 66 and indicate the position of the tuning device. 7

In applying this control unit to the instrument panel of an automobile, the two bushings 6 and I are adapted to extend through complementary openings in the instrument panel, said instrument panel beingindicated by the dotted lines 66. The

a outer ends of these bushings are threaded and first an angular member 62 is slipped over the bushing and then a lock nut 64 applied which is adapted to be tightened down to secure the unit in position. A dished spring disk 66 is then slid 5 on each of the shafts I4 and 26 and an inverted cup-shaped member 66 is applied which substantiaily illls the opening in the angular member 62 and conceals the lock nut 64 on the shaft. The two knobs I6 and 26 are then applied to the shafts.

5 pressed in to keep some tension upon the spring disks and their set screws tightened to complete the assembly.

The modification of my device shown in Figures 3 6 inclusive is of more elaborate design and in- 5 eludes more control factors than that hereinbefore set forth.

Referring now more speciiicaily to Figure 3, a casing I62 is provided which as before is roughly rectangular and is composed of a base and cover go and includes in addition side extensions I64 for support purposes. Secured in spaced parallel relation to the front and rear walls of the casing is a supporting plate I66 mounted on a plurality of studs I 66 secured in the'forward casing wall 5 and cap screws III which extend through the plate and into the ends of the studs.

In the forward wall of the casing are rigidly supported two spaced bushings H2 and H4. Within each of the hollow bushings are supported 70 a pair of sleeves I I6I II and I26I22, one within the other and within the inner sleeve in each case is rotatably supported the control shaft, I24 and I26 respectively. The innermost sleeve H8 iournalling the shaft Ilthassecured to its inner 75 end an arm I26 which engages one of the studs I66 to prevent this sleeve from turning. The similar innermost sleeve I2ojournal1ing shaft I26 has an arm I36 secured thereto to which engages a stud I22 to prevent ,it from rotating in like manner. 5 The outermost sleeve H6 is rotatable on the inner sleeve III and within the bushing H2 and has press-fitted upon its outer end a knob I34 for turning the same. To the inner end of the sleeve is secured a movable switch arm I36 which is 10 adapted tooperate back and forth between two stationary switch members I36 and I46, said switch being adapted to control the sensitivity of the radio set for local or distant stations. A washer I42 is applied over the outer end of shaft 15 I24 and contacts lightly with the control knob I34 and a second control knob I44 is applied to the end of the shaft and secured thereto by a set screw to hold the washer I42 snugly in, place, said last knob controlling the rotation of shaft I24. 20 Secured to the shaft I24 within the casing is a spur gear I46 by set screw I46 and a flexible drive shaft I66 is secured to the end of shaft I24 in any conventional manner to rotate with the same and transmit this rotation to a distant point. Carried on the supporting plate I06 is a stub shaft I62 secured to the plate by nut, I64. On this shaft are rotatably supported two gears I66 and I68 which are kept pressed tightly together by a dished spring member I60. Under ordinary 3o circumstances the two gears rotate at the same speed but if for any reason one gear is locked the other may rotate with respect thereto to prevent stripping of the teeth. The gear I56 meshes with the spur gear I46 on shaft I24 and the gear 3 I66 meshes with a gear-I62 mounted on a parallel shaft I64, one end of which is supported on the plate I68 and the other end proceeds through a bushing I66 in an arm I68 which projects inwardly from one side of the casing. I64 carries upon its outer end an indicating needie I16 for showing the tuning position. It is therefore evident that the right hand knob I44 controls the tuning and dial indication of the set while the adjacent knob I34, concentric with the same control shaft but movable relatively with respect thereto, operates the sensitivity control switch I36, I38-I46.

Upon the left side of the control panel the inner knob I12 is press-fitted upon the outer rotatable 5 sleeve I22 and rigidly secured to the inner end of the sleeve is a gear I14, which meshes with a secondgear I16 held upon the end of a rotatable shaft I16 by screw I66. Adjacent the inner end of the shaft I26 and the rotatable shaft I16 there is a supporting plate I82 which is held in spaced parallel relation to the vertical walls of the easing by supporting studs I32 and is held thereon by screws I84. To this plate are securedby any desired means a. rheostat I86 which is operated w by the rotating shaft I16, the purpose of said rheostat in the radio circuit being that of tone control from base to treble range. As the knob I12 is rotated it turns the gear I14 which transmits rotation to the gear I16 rotating the shaft 55 I16 of the rheostat I86 to control the tone.

The control shaft I26 which rotates within the stationary sleeve I26 is mounted directly on a switch and rheostat assembly I88 which is also supported on. the plate I82, said switch and rheo- 7o stat being of the conventional type in which a. partial rotation turns on the switch and a continned rotation of the shaft varies the amount of resistance in the circuit. This construction is common in all radio sets and therefore the par- 7 The shaft araaaso ticular construction of this unit will not -be more specifically defined. 4

The knob ISO is applied to the outer end of the shaft I26 and secured thereto by a set screw to operate the switch and volume control I88. The forward wall of the casing as viewed in Fig-- ure 3 has a large circular opening I92 over which is secured a disk I94, the ends of which are crimped through openings in the main casing to secure the same therein. Secured above or in front of the disk I84 is a shielding annular ring I96 having a comparatively large center opening therein through which the indicating needle I10 is visible from the front. Above this shielding disk is a transparent disk I98 having painted on the rear face thereof suitable indicia 200. Secured over the outer edge of the transparent disk 1581s an'annular bezel 2% which is U-shaped in cross section to enclose a rubber Washer 29% which presses directly against the-glass dial 598. The bezel has an angular edge M6 which is secured to the forward face of the casing by suitable screws 208.

In one end of the casing there is supported a socket ZIIl which supports any conventional light bulb M2 for a source of light. As the illumination within the casing travels through openings 2 and ZIB in the plates I94 and I96 respectively, it travels through the glass dial I98 until it reaches a spot or area of opaque paint or similar material 2II secured to the forward face of the glass dial which reflects the light back through. the dial and causes it to travel radially to illumi-' hate the indicia 200 on the rear face. In this modification of my control the right hand knob I controls the tuning and the knob I34, slightly to the rear of the knob I, controls the sensitivity or distance reception. The left hand knob I90 controls the volume and ofl-and-on switch and its adjacent knob I12 controls the base or treble tone of the receiver.

It should be pointed out that with the switch and rheostat I88 located within the remote control as hereinshown, it is only necessary to have one flexible cable, namely I60, which extends to the remotely positioned radio set to turn the gang condensers instead of two as previously used.

I claim:

.1. In a device of the class described. a casing,

. by the casing, a

an indicating dial carried by the casing and having therein an opening adjacent the dial center, a plurality of heating means carried by the casing in alignment with the opening,.a spindle shaft carried in the bearings and projecting through the opening in the dial plate, an indicating needle carried by the projecting end, a gear secured to the spindle, a helical coil spring surrounding the spindle and having one end secured to the gear and the other to one of the bearing means to bias the spindle rotation in one direction and driving means to rotate the gear.

2. In a device of the class described, a casing, an indicating dial carried by the casing and having therein an .opening adjacent the dial center, a plurality of bearing means carried by the easing inalignment, with the opening, a spindle shaft carried in the bearings and projecting through the opening in the dial plate, an indicating needle carried by the projecting end, a

gear secured to the spindle, a helical coil spring surrounding the spindle and having one end se cured to the gear and the other to one of the bearing means to bias the spindle rotation in one direction, driving means to rotate the gear, said driving means including a counter shaft carried plurality of gears mounted for independent rotation =.thereon, spring biasing means to force one gear against thev other so that the two will rotate together, onegear engaging the gear on the spindle, and additional gearing engaging the .other gear to drive.

3. In a device of the class described, a casing, adial mounted in the casing, a spindle mounted for rotation in the casing and having one end adjacent the dial, an indicating needle on the spindle to cooperate with the the], spring biasing means on the spindle tending to maintain the needle .at one extremity of its travel, a shaft parallel to the spindle, gearing interconnecting the two, a hollow sleeve mounted on the shaft to act as a bearing, said sleeve projecting through the casing, movable means between the casing and sleeve to support the latter, means projecting from the sleeve and contacting a remote part of the casing to anchor the sleeve and means on the shaft to turn the same and thus move the indicator.

. ELBRIDGE I". BACON. 

